There was no Western Bay cricket on Saturday, but Thursday saw three T20 ties.
There was no Western Bay cricket on Saturday, but Thursday saw three T20 ties.
Persistent drizzle on Saturday meant all senior Western Bay cricket games were abandoned without a ball being bowled.
On the previous Thursday, three Classic Builders Division 1&2 final qualifying matches were completed under ideal twilight cricket conditions.
Te Puke came from well down the standings to inflict United Indians FirstXI with its first defeat of the qualifying play, in Pool 2 action. Te Puke middle-order batter Mike de Beer led the way to his side’s total of 167/7, with 57 runs.
Long-serving Te Puke player Ryan Crossley scythed through the United Indians’ batting attack, taking five wickets at a cost of just 24 runs, to remove their opponents with just 81 runs on the scoreboard.
Tauranga Boys’ College secured a likely position-section berth when they defended 133/7 against Cadets 3.
Aarish Aryal produced the highest score of the match with 35 runs. Cadets were restricted to 122 for the loss of seven wickets by the Tauranga Boys’ bowlers to move into second place in Pool 1.
Katikati chased down United Indians 2′s total of 148/8 for the loss of five wickets. Individual match honours lay with Katikati bowler Manjot Singh (3/18) and skipper Ben Warren, who posted an unbeaten 49.
The remaining round-seven matches will be completed over the next two Thursday evenings.
